In Which Lelouch and Suzaku XXX
by lulusuzakuforlife
Summary: Where XXX is an undefined action different from that which rabid fangirls are prone to imagining.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If I were the owner of Code Geass, I would've shot myself from embarrassment a long time ago. :P

**In Which Lelouch and Suzaku Angst Greatly about Their Lots in Life**

It was dark. Quite fitting actually, for him to be surrounded by the absence of everything; after all, he had taken up the identity of nothingness. But this absence of everything–the lack of tactile sensation, the blindness–didn't seem suffocating or alarming at all. After all, what could shake the man who engineered his own death and the birth of a new world at the age of eighteen?

Suddenly he felt a prickle, as of something crawling across his skin. A ray of sun flashed against the back of his eyelids, and he slowly opened his eyes.

And lo and behold, crawly leisurely along his cheekbone was a lowly earthworm!!! Lelouch's eyes widened and jumped up quickly. Or tried to. His body seemed to refused to obey the electric signals being sent through his neurons, and gave a pathetic jerk to the left. After a couple more unsuccessful attempts to move, he gave up and glared at the earthworm, who had, by this time, crawled near his eye.

"Move," the ex-emperor commanded, before belatedly realizing that earthworms had neither the eyes nor the brain to obey his geass. A faint chuckle reached his ears as Lelouch quickly scanned his surroundings. Turning around, he was confronted with his partner-in-crime CC. His befuddled mind began snapping the pieces into place immediately, recalling the earlier events that had culminated in his very public "death." Rising slowly, he daintily flicked off the earthworm before brushing off his bloodstained royal robes. Britannian customs conveniently dictated that a body should be left out for a period of 3 days before actual burial. He would have to geass the mortician in order to cover up his miraculous resurrection.

"It looks like the code worked," Lelouch commented in the bland tone he would use when speaking to his (brainless) siblings. As expected, CC gave him a look, not even deigning to reply. Slowly, he stretched his limbs. Being "dead" for 2 days did wonders to a human's body. Lelouch felt more helpless than a 4 month baby learning to crawl. Two days ago, he had been the most powerful man on Earth and look at him now. As he concentrated on relearning to use his limbs, Lelouch felt CC's amused gaze fall on him. And ignored it. "What do you want to do now?"

Caught unaware, Lelouch turned to look at CC, his glib retort dying on his lips. He had eternity ahead of him, and suddenly it felt like too much for him to handle. However, his mind immediately crushed the momentary weakness. Narrowing his eyes, he draws himself up and exits the chamber in his usual drama queen style. Like his shadow, CC glides out behind him. "Before you go anywhere, I think it would be a good idea to change out of those bloody robes. It's quite showy."

With a start, Lelouch realized that he was still wearing the white bloodstained robes that marked him as the Emperor of Britiannia. Miffed, Lelouch vaguely wondered if this was the treatment he gave his father. Growling slightly, Lelouch shoved the thought away and angrily demanded, "Why didn't anyone change me out of these clothes? I know I was a bastard king, but rigor mortis sets in quickly, making it impossible to change clothes. Really, what kind of idiots am I surrounded by?"

With a wince, he recalled the people he had left behind. Suzaku, Nunally, Karen, Suzaku, Ougi...mostly Suzaku. A gnawing feeling ate at his heart, and he turned from CC.

Silently, the girl watched him before remarking offhandedly, "I've always wanted to be a farmer, you know?"

Lelouch turned in surprise. "But if you're on a farm, how will you get your daily dosages of Pizza Hut pizza?!"

CC looked him in the eye and said with a straight face: "I heard Cheese-kuns are made on farms."

Lelouch's eyes widened comically and he valiantly resisted the urge to let his jaw drop. A part of him was grateful for the subtle suggestion of how to start a new life and another part rebelled at the thought of a person of his status doing manual labor. Ok, maybe he has a problem with the thought of doing manual labor more than the status problem. God knows how horrible he is at doing manual labor. Oh wait, he doesn't have a God. Then, whatever deity was up there watching everything indifferently, but evidently loved to torture him. Unable to come up with a better idea, Lelouch finally replied, "A farm sounds good."

CC smiled mysteriously, knowing he'd cave in in the end. The two proceeded down the hall, where the office of the mortician was conveniently located. Feeing a headache build up behind his temple, Lelouch decided to take out his temper on the heavy wooden door standing between him and the mortician. Several kicks and body slams later, the door refused to budge. Apparently gaining CC's code did not improve his physical prowess. CC gazed askance at him before turning the knob, gesturing for him to enter first.

The mortician rose in alarm. He was a spidery, decrepit old man, looking like he already had a foot in the grave. Without missing a beat, Lelouch activated his geass, ordering the mortician to give him clothes and arrange for "Lelouch vi Britannia" to be buried immediately. The younger man was mortified when the old man began stripping on the spot, remembering belatedly that he should have specified what clothes he wanted. Eyeing the proffered clothes with distaste, Lelouch begrudgingly slipped out of his own robes and put on the mortician's shirt. The pants and underwear, he decided, would stay.

The mortician then scraped some ash from the fireplace and selected the finest urn, filling it halfway. To add some authenticity to the fake remains, Lelouch tossed his discarded robe into the fireplace before adding a few partially burnt scraps of cloth into the urn. Nodding in satisfaction and certain no one would try to analyze his ashes, Lelouch reminded the mortician to forget this ever happened. Without a further word he swept from the office, leaving a confused and half-naked mortician behind him.

Stepping out of the dank mortuary, Lelouch took his first breath of fresh air as a free man. With a start, he realized that he was indeed free in every sense of the word. He longer has any responsibilities, to the country, to the people, to his friends, to his sister. He had even escaped the chains that bound everyone–death. He received a chance to start over, to become anyone he wants, to do anything he wants, but he wondered if the price he paid was worth the freedom he received in exchange.

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The lock made a soft click as it slid into place, and he checked the windows and walls for any signs of surveillance. Satisfied that he was alone, Suzaku removed the mask and cloak. As he began to relax, he chided himself. "I am Zero, I am Zero. Suzaku is dead now."

Yes. Suzaku is dead. Just as Euphemia is dead. And Shirley. And Charles and Marriane. And the millions of soldiers and innocent civilians. The war spared nobody, not the evil nor the good. And now, Lelouch is dead. Lelouch. Lelouch, his best friend, his comrade, and his sometime enemy is dead. Suzaku snorted at the irony. At one point, he had wanted to kill Lelouch, but it was when he had wanted to save his friend that Lelouch had been killed. And by his own hands. "Well, I guess I managed to keep my promise to you, Euphy," Suzaku said ruefully to the empty room. Only silence replied.

Suzaku threw himself onto the plain bed in the corner, wondering what he would be doing for the rest of his life. "Help me Lelouch," he prayed, "I want to be able to protect the world." Never mind that he was being arrogant by thinking he was capable of protecting the whole world, or that he was talking to himself. The shock of losing someone so close to him made his grip on sanity even more tenuous than usual. A soft knock shook Suzaku out of his musings. Cursing his negligence, he hurriedly donned on the Zero outfit and opened the door to find the new Empress looking sadly at him.

"You know, Suzaku-san, you could've told me of the plan before it happened. You don't have to carry the burden by yourself."

But the young Empress' words did little to make him feel better. With a twinge of guilt, Suzaku realized how it must have felt for Nunally to see her brother's best friend kill her beloved oniisan. Feeling his grip on sanity slipping even further with this added guilt, Suzaku decided that it would be dangerous for him to stay in the same room with Nunally for too long. Averting his eyes, Suzaku blurted out the first line that came into his head: "Excuse me your highness, but I need to shower. The Zero costume needs to be put in the wash soon; it smells awful." Indeed, the smell was especially irking to Nunally's delicate nose. A faint waft of stale pizza rose from the black cloak. Slightly relieved at the chance to leave gracefully, Nunally spun her wheelchair to leave.

"Suzaku-san?" Her small voice bringing his attention back to the girl in front of him. "Yes?"

"If you ever want to talk about it, I'd be more than happy to. I think sharing this sorrow would be helpful. For you as well as for me." Inclining his head, Suzaku acknowledged Nunally's comment. Relocking the door, he headed toward the bathroom, stripping along the way. As the water rushed over his body, Suzaku slowly relaxed. He had always taken a shower after a battle, convincing himself that all the blood of the soldiers he had killed in battle would wash away with the sweat and grime. But today, with the blood of his best friend on his hands, Suzaku felt like he would never cleanse himself of the blood. The weight of his sin suddenly weighed on him with overwhelming intensity and Sukazu slumped against the cool tile.

Slamming his fist against the shower wall, he turned off the shower. As he dried his hair, he pulled out a photo of happier times at Ashford Academy, a photo of the student council. The faces of the other council members were blacked out, and at the center of the photo stood Lelouch and Suzaku, arms around each other. Happier days indeed.

Grabbing the spare Zero outfit, Suzaku headed to the mortuary to see Lelouch one last time even if it was just to see Lelouch's still face. Making his way swiftly to the mortuary, Suzaku hurried through lavish hallways. Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, Suzaku caught a flash of green; doing a double take, Suzaku only saw an empty corridor. Shaking his head, he headed onwards, dismissing it as just his imagination. But when he got to the mortuary, he was greeted by a half naked mortician. Sweeping past the mortician, Suzaku walked to the familiar room that housed Lelouch's body. But one surprise followed another, when he discovered the room empty. Making a grand sweep around, Zerozaku demanded, "Where's the Emperor's body?!"

Hope swelled up within him, despite cold common sense yelling that there had to be a logical explanation. The mortician was little help. The babbling old fool looked ready to kick the bucket. However, the old man was lucid enough to point at an urn on his desk and utter two fateful words: "The Emperor." Feeling his heart drop to the pit of his stomach, Suzaku rushed to the urn, eyes filling with tears that were threatening to brim over. Lifting the urn, he suddenly noticed that it was quite light–too light in fact.

Tearing open the covering of the urn, Suzaku noticed the little strips of partially burnt white cloth. Yes. This was Lelouch's work for sure. Only he would go so far to convince people of his death. Lelouch's geass would explain the mortician's half dressed state as well. Yes, perhaps there _was_ hope after all. With this wonderfully self-serving logic in mind, Suzaku walked out of the mortuary. He knew Lelouch would not leave any traces behind for him to follow. However, his strong intuition and deep abiding bond with Lelouch would ensure their reunion.

Sweeping through the halls, Suzaku spotted Karen wandering aimlessly through the palace. Smirking slightly, Suzaku started formulating his own plan. We can't have Lelouch doing all the thinking now can we? Knowing him, he probably decided to keep himself far from the people he knew and leave without saying anything, trusting Suzaku and Nunally to create a better world. Abruptly, Suzaku stopped. In his joy at discovering the possibility that his friend was not dead, Suzaku had forgotten his promise to Lelouch to become the "defender of justice and wear a mask forever." To no longer live a Kururugi Suzaku. To sacrifice his happiness for the world...eternally. He couldn't forsake his promise for the possibility of being able to find Lelouch out there living somewhere. After all, that's what it was. A possibility, nothing more. No, it would not do. He had to protect Nunally, especially in the next few years, to establish legitimacy of the current government. Although Lelouch told him to be a defender of justice, Suzaku reasoned that he could slightly abuse his power to try and find his friend. Then again, who would want to find or even believe that the tyrant Emperor was still alive? Perhaps later he would find a way to do so. Later he would be able to do as he chooses. For now, his place was with Nunally. With this decision, Zerozaku swept past Karen, acknowledging her with the barest inclination of his head.

Suzaku gaze off into the distance, his fist over his heart. "Lelouch," He vowed, "I'll protect the peace you created for Nunally until the day we can be together again~~~!!!"

End Chapter 1

Author's Note: Logic is hard. :[ Angst is harder.

***********Alternate Ending**********  
His musings had brought him directly in front of the pink haired girl. Karen looked up in surprise, her eyes swiftly filling with bitterness. "Oh, it's you. **Zero**." Suzaku reminded himself that she was merely a Zero fangirl and smirked behind his mask. "Hello Karen."

Zerozaku: ...do you believe that Lelouch had to die?

Karen: **glare** I believe he's still alive.

Zerozaku: Impossible, I stabbed him in the chest in a very public display of phallic symbology.

Karen: Yeah, whatever, screw you. He's totally into girls.

Zerozaku: Bitch! Take that back!

**catfight ensues**

Wonder who wins?


	2. Chapter 2

**In Which Lelouch and Suzaku Face New Trials and Fail to Meet**

A tall, majestic lady purposefully strode through the halls, her dark skin brought out by the light yellow robes she was wearing. In the dark lighting, the lady's high cheekbones made her look even more regal than normal, seeming to hold more experience than her actual 20 years. All who met her lowered their eyes politely and let her pass. Her long strides brought her into the large hanger where thousands of soldiers snapped to attention: "Long live Queen Olufemi!" Evidently, or conveniently, Nigeria's national language was English.

Her eyes did not stray from the path ahead of her. Briefly skimming over the soldiers, she nodded to the commanding officer, signaling him to come closer for his orders. In a low voice, Olefumi asked her officer: "How are the negotiations going with the Romanian Underground?"

Taking a quick look around, the officer replied, "They're supposed to sell anything for the right price. But negotiations are at a standstill due to some stubbornness on the part of their head."

Olefumi's eyes darkened. "What does that mean?"

Cringing, he haltingly answered, "It seems he doesn't approve of our cause, and as such refuses to back us against the New United Nations."

Olefumi sighed. "Very well, open negotiations with other areas. One of them is bound to come around."

"Brothers, continue training! Soon, our time will come. We will make the Big Three recognize our strength as one of the world's top powers!" Sweeping from the room in a fashion that must have required years of training, Olefumi grit her teeth in frustration. She barely noticed her subordinates' salutes and looks of awe.

'Why? Why doesn't the Romanian underground sell to us? They've always sold weapons and raw materials to everyone without discrimination. Or maybe that was it. It's because of our race, or color that they refuse to sell to us. Because they are scared of our potential. Our power.' With these thoughts running through her mind, Olefumi strode vengefully through her base. 'We'll show you our power. We'll become our own country; we won't take orders from you anymore.'

Olefumi smiled grimly, vowing to make this dream become reality even without the support of the Romanian underground.

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The heat was starting to get to Zerozaku. He stood in his customary position of honor behind the Empress Nunally vi Britannia. The peace conference was sadly becoming rather violent. The representatives from China were arguing bitterly for decreasing the import tax on their kung fu merchandise. International Bruce Lee and Jin Yong fans had been decreasing steadily over the years as the foreign countries hiked up import taxes. The European Federation, or what remained of it, wanted the official code of conduct for the New United Nations to include an amendment stating the superiority of black tea over green tea any day of the year. As expected, the Asian countries were not taking this well at all. Representatives were clawing at each other in pointed poisoned verbal attacks. Nunally cleared her throat authoritatively. A Chinese representative glanced at her for a brief moment, but immediately returned to instructing his translator to tell the French representative about the wonders of Chinese kung fu.

Seeing her go unnoticed, Zerozaku sighed deeply and stepped forward. He sharply rapped on the table, and immediately the chamber fell silent.

"The pleasant banter about these issues is extremely heartwarming. The world has indeed become a better place if a peace meeting between the Big Three consists of merely kung-fu and tea." Zerozaku's voice rose at this point. "However, we must work hard to protect this peace. It has come to my attention that there are small..." –Zerozaku chose his words carefully, there was no need to cause undue panic at this point in time–"skirmishes in Africa."

A collective gasp rose from the delegates and they all started speaking at once. With four delegates from each government and their translators, it was hard to understand who was saying what. Feeling a headache coming on, Zerozaku wondered if he was ever going to get used to these meetings. He silently thanked Lelouch for making Zero have a mask that covered the ears. It slightly muffed the noise. But just slightly. Maybe he should have made it come with filtering as well as the megaphone it seemed to carry. It would have helped alot. Clearing his throat again, Zerozaku regally demanded "Quiet." Fifty years of being Zero had certainly honed his silencing skills. "We must take action immediately," He pressed on. "We cannot let the peace we've established be crushed by these ants." Not after everything Lelouch did for us, Zerozaku added silently.

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"WHAT THE HELL DOES OLEFUMI WANT TO DO?!?!?! DOES SHE NOT REALIZE THAT THIS CIVIL WAR IS EXACTLY WHAT I TRIED TO PREVENT?!?! GAHHH!! THESE STUPID WOMEN!!!"

The guards outside the door flinched slightly as something heavy hit the door. Like a PMSing teenage girl, he threw his phone to the floor, little pieces of gears flying in every direction. An aide made an effort to go into the room. He was promptly restrained by two guards, a secretary, and the pet chihuahua. The family did not provide insurance for damage caused by their boss, after all.

Lelouch slammed his fists into his desk angrily before ripping the requests sent by the African Tribal Alliance. He refused to help an alliance that was threatening the peace he worked so hard to create no matter how ludicrous the deal was. His announcement seemed to surprise his underlings, but Lelouch didn't feel the need to explain himself. Cutting the video conference off, Lelouch slumped into his black-leather, executive chair with a sigh. Why did everything have to be so difficult? Why can't everyone just talk problems out like they were supposed to? Occasionally, Lelouch wondered if everything he did was worth it.

Ah....but what can he do now? His geass doesn't have the power to turn back time. So all he can do now is help preserve the peace. There are things he can do, after all he is the head of the Romanian Underground. His long journey with CC started in the cold Siberian plains of Russia. In marked contrast was their next stop, the warm India. Going further west, they made a short stay in Egypt, but realized they stuck out like a sore thumb there. France had a distinct lack of Pizza Huts. Finally, Lelouch decided to settle in the homeland of his fashion idol, Count Dracula.

Lelouch was surprise to find that Cheese-kuns were actually grown. He seemed to have slacked off on his studies while planning to destroy and build the world. Planning and actually growing Cheese-kuns took the better part of the first 5 years. By this time, they have grown a large field and was trading extensively with Pizza Hut. Their farm had expanded and they have high profits. Soon they started trading with the underground to create a monopoly of Cheese-kuns.

After bailing the underground out of a pinch with the police by using his geass, Lelouch began climbing the ranks. Easily establishing himself as the head, Lelouch forged strong connections with neighboring gangs and carved out a place among the most influential gang leaders in Europe.

"Nul" had become a name famous in the underground now and the rumors about him made him more fearsome. Many people were speculating that Nul was someone powerful in the government, since he was able to control the police force. This fact, coupled with his rapid rise to power, made Nul a fearsome persona. In the 15 years that he had joined the organization, Nul had expanded their routes and profits so that the Romanian underground had a large base of their people in most of the countries of the European Union and was rapidly spreading into other territories. Nul's persuasive and political prowess were formidable, and all were afraid of becoming his enemy. He was known to maneuver his enemies into the proverbial corner and force them to agree to whatever he demanded. The fact that he never showed his face and communicated mostly via video conference with a strong back light only reinforced his image as the devil personified.

Despite the unsurprising ease with which Lelouch took over the underground scene of Europe, he oftentimes felt completely hollow inside. He was doing his part in keeping the land stable for Nunally, but he missed her deeply. Almost, but not nearly as deeply as he missed Suzaku. Over the years he began taking a more active role in the 'family,' leaving the Cheese-kun farm to CC.

After giving her code to Lelouch, CC had started aging along with the rest of mankind. But although her body had aged, her mind had not. Only her biting tongue was able to drive him crazy, everything else was just a minor nuisance. CC was still the only one who could make him riled up.

It has been fifty years since the rather public execution of Lelouch vi Britannia at the hands of Zerozaku. Lelouch was overjoyed to discover that CC's code had given his eternal youth as well, something old noblewomen had bathed in maidens' blood to accomplish (and fail at). In fact, these days Lelouch mocked Romanian legends. He was the living embodiment of what Dracula and countless others had attempted to achieve.

Nunally, on the other hand, had become a shrunken old woman resembling the stereotypical well-meaning grandmother sitting in a rocking chair. Her ever-faithful shadow, Zerozaku, stood as tall as he did fifty years prior. This Zero could not be Suzaku, Lelouch knew. Suzaku should be a 78-year-old man by now. The line of succession in the Britannian Empire was a jumbled up mess after Nunally's ascension. Schneizel's son was a favorite for the throne, gaining more influence now that his aged father has retired from the political scene. The apple had not fallen far from the tree, and the young man was already a favorite of the Empress.

The Empresses of China and Japan were no longer lolis, instead having become crabby old post-menopause women. Thankfully their respective countries were ruled by those more capable. Li Xingke of the Chinese Confederation, having become a kung fu master after undergoing heavy training to cure his blood-hacking Korean Drama Disease, apparently managed to learn the secrets to eternal youth too. The world of Chinese Kung Fu is mysterious indeed. Orange-kun, along with his no-longer-loli Anya, established the most successful orange trading company in the world. Their dominance of the market was not hurt by the timely "disappearance" of major competitors.

Lelouch released his second sigh in 5 minutes. Even knowing all of this, courtesy of his underground information network, Lelouch felt extremely lonely. Everyone was getting older and there was no one in the Underground that he felt he really could trust. Not like the way he trusted Suzaku at least. Oh, there were plenty of minions for him to command. Even without the geass, Nul was able to command people to do his bidding without question. The only problem was that he couldn't trust anyone to act in his place.

Cutting through Lelouch's depressing musings, the phone rang. Lazily he picked it up before suddenly snapping up when he heard the voice and the contents of the call. Things were becoming interesting...

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The aged Empress of Britannia sat on the rocking chair beside the cackling fire. Suzaku sprawled on the floor next to her. Staring into Nunally's tired eyes, Suzaku tried his best to reassure her. "It's as I told the council. I have already taken steps to deal with the potential threat from Africa." Seeing the Empress raise one eyebrow questioningly, Suzaku continued, "I have contacted the head of the Romanian Mafia. He is said to be a man with connections throughout the world. He will begin choking off the supply lines to the African resistance movement."

Suzaku tactfully decided to keep quiet on the fact that Olefumi, leader of the African resistance, had been amassing troops and weapons for awhile now. More disturbing was the disappearance of several key scientists in the development of Knightmare Frames.

Authors' Note: Nothing overtly stupid this time. Coming up with a whole insidious plot is hard. :x

Lulu PMSs like a bitch. :P And we should all go grow Cheese-kuns. :D

Bonus Scene:  
Lulu: we're not supplying Olefumi.

Minion #1: but they're offering a very good deal

Minion #2: yeah, it's twice what we normally would charge

Lulu: -vein pop-  
**an hour later**

Minion #1: ...doctor...somebody...

Minion #2: -foams at mouth-

Secretary: Security, issue a BLACK ALERT! No one is to speak to, phone, fax, email, or approach Master Nul until further notice. Repeat.

Guards: ...

Lulu: RAWR

:x :x

Meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic...

Suzaku: RAWR *bitchslaps Karen*

Hmm, and the battle rages...


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** There have been many questions about why the time skip of 50 years, and instead of answering each person individually, we decided it was simply more efficient to address it here for everyone to see. =] We felt that it was an appropriate amount of time for Lulu to travel around before finally settling down. Also, we figured that even for Lulu, he would need a decent amount of time to make his way to the top of an already established organization which already has leaders and the like. The second reason for the time skip was that after the huge world war, we figured that the characters and the countries they were running would be busy rebuilding themselves. In our own history, there was a 20 year gap between WWI and WWII, but we thought that with Lulu's death and Suzaku and Nunally's rule, the peace would last longer before someone feels that talking isn't getting anywhere and starts another war. _-H_

H has wonderful tact and is good at explaining this. She's such a sweetie when you don't let her have sugar._-Y_

* * *

**In Which Lelouch and Suzaku have a Heartfelt Reunion and Domestic Violence**

Zerozaku stared at the computer screen in shock. Of all the possible outcomes of this video conference, this was one he had not foreseen. He had heard that Nul only communicates via video conference, and never discusses or meets anyone, including his own subordinates. For Nul to have requested an audience with Zero, Zerozaku wondered if he was talking with the real Nul or this was merely an impostor. But unable to say anything else, Zerozaku agreed to the meeting.

After the video blinked out, Suzaku took off his mask and took a breath of fresh air, not filtered by the mask. After the harrowing meeting of the Big Three, Suzaku was completely spent. He slowly made his way across the room, ready to collapse on the bed. Halfway across, he caught his reflection in the mirror.

Suzaku sighed before turning away. He was still not used to not seeing the same face as he had as an 18 year old for 50 years. Suzaku first realized that something was different about him when Carine le Britannia had her first child ten years after the "death" of Lelouch. For the first time, he had taken a good look at the people around him. They had all aged significantly, the war and the burdens they carried weighing down on them. Yet, when Suzaku took off his mask, he hadn't aged at all.

He had been confused. He was not a "special" person; he doesn't possess a code like CC. His first guess was that it had something to do with the "live on" geass that he had received from Lelouch, but that didn't seem to add up. Lelouch had told him that geass can't affect people physically, only mentally. So, what was different?

Perhaps he should ask Lelouch when they finally met up. If they met up. Suzaku shook his head. What was he saying? Of course they'll meet up. Lelouch had once told him that he was special. But just how? Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he had willingly took on Lelouch's wish, or his geass in a way.

But for now, it was time to sleep. Suzaku was too tired to do any more thinking.

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Lelouch had been shaken when he received a message from himself. That is, Zero. Who was then Suzaku. Combine the two and get Zerozaku. It was all rather confusing but made twisted sense in his mind. And now in a sweep of poetic justice, he would be meeting with Suzaku's successor. Lelouch wondered what kind of man Suzaku had chosen. Perhaps this man was even Suzaku's own blood. Silently he contemplated ways to pump this "Zero" for news about his old friend. He smoothed down his elaborate cloak, overtly ornate for no purpose whatsoever. Waiting in his office like a crouching lion, Lelouch thanked the sky above for granting him the foresight to install soundproof walls. He didn't want anyone overhearing what was said in this meeting.

–BEEP, BEEP, BEEP– "Zero is here to see you, Master Nul," the smooth voice of his secretary said.

"Send him in," Lelouch replied. Then he carefully switched off the intercom. Leaning back languidly, he waited like a cat about to spring upon a mouse. Adjusting his own simple black mask, Nul watched in amusement as "Zero" entered the room and smoothly locked the door. The Zero outfit hadn't changed much, except perhaps the collar was less exaggerated. Nul mentally shrugged, it was probably done so that Zero's visibility wasn't compromised.

First, of course, came the customary greetings. This was a dance he had memorized the steps to as a child, and Nul felt extremely relaxed in his element. He took the first step; the dance had started. "Welcome. It's an honor to meet the man who textbooks teach brought peace to the land."

As expected, Zero moved accordingly and replied, "The honor is all mine. I'm sure many people would pay extraordinary amounts of money to meet with the most influential man in Europe. You exaggerate my achievements. " As he straightened from his bow, Zero took his first good look at Nul. The man was young, and could be anywhere between 16 and 30; unable to see Nul's face, Zero couldn't narrow the age down any more. The body was lanky, and looked rather delicate. All in all, Nul was completely different from what Zero had imagined. How did such a young and weak looking boy become the head of one of the most powerful mafias in Europe?

Time to step things up a notch, Nul decided, and purposely commented, "Perhaps so. After all, it should be the achievements of a previous Zero, yes?" If this Zero took offense at something like this, then Suzaku needed to chose a different person.

Nul was disappointed when Zero simply gave a textbook answer. "Indeed. My successor was a great man who brought an end to the rule of a tyrant. I am honored to be selected as his successor and preserve peace in his stead."

Bored, Nul decided to lead the dance to a different direction. "How quaint. And I suppose you seek to prove yourself. Well I would love to start talking business, though I can't help but wonder what happened to your predecessor..."

As expected, Zero took the bait. "Ah. Unfortunately, I know not the answer to your question. After training and choosing me, he had disappeared, simply leaving me the outfit and the mask. However, I do wish that the mask was a bit less stifling..."

This Zero, Lelouch decided, spoke differently from Suzaku at least. But then again, anyone who needed to survive in the political arena needed to be eloquent, even if he wielded as much power as Zero. But this time, Zero didn't answer in the practiced tone as he did the first. This was more of a reverent tone. It made Lelouch more curious about the relationship between this Zero and Suzaku. "How mysterious of him. You seem to have a lot of respect for this man. Almost as if...he's a father figure."

Zero paused to consider his words carefully. He didn't know how much this Nul figure knew of the previous Zero. The fact that he realized Zero could not be one person proved he was a shrewd man, as expected from the mafia leader. He settled on the personality of an obedient successor and replied, "Of course. There doesn't exist a child who doesn't respect him. As for me, he was a father figure. He was the one who took me in and raised me when I was abandoned by my real parents. He's the closest thing to a father to me. Even if I met my real parents, I would still consider my predecessor my 'father.'"

Nul smirked slightly. This Zero then, knew Suzaku fairly well. Unless there was another Zero in between. Deciding to vent some of his frustration from dealing with troublemakers trying to destroy his peace, Nul decided to toy with Zero a little. "I see. Well this father figure of yours, he's really left you with a lot of your plate. This whole situation in Africa...your attempts to deal with them are..."

Feeling confident that they were finally entering the negotiations stage, Zero answered, "Ah...yes. Rumors have reached my ears that your influence stretched extremely far in the different mafias. I hope that you could use that influence to prevent other mafias from supplying the African rebels."

Nul could not help the catlike grin that stretched over his face. Thankfully, the mask covered his mouth. "Well...certainly with MY influences it would not be a problem. However I really feel no strong urge to help you."

For a moment there was silence. Zero stared at Nul through his mask, the atmosphere around him growing dangerous. With a rush he remembered all that he did for the sake of peace and justice in his youth. He raised his voice, "What do you mean? Do you want to let this precious peace disappear again?!? How many more people do you think will be sucked into this conflict, just because you 'feel no strong urge to help?'"

Nul's grin became wider. This Zero was amusing, and unbelievably easy to manipulate. He took after Suzaku in this respect. Deciding to push him further, Lelouch added, "Who do you take me for? I'm the head of the Romanian mafia, I have a reputation to keep up." Ahh...what a nice way to relieve stress.

That was the last straw for Zero. He forgot about his original purpose, and tact flew out the window when the roaring flame of rage swept through him. "A REPUTATION?" Zero screamed while gesticulating wildly, "You're worried about your REPUTATION?!? We're talking about another large scale war here, and all you're worried about is maintaining your REPUTATION?! You twisted fucker. You don't care about all the people who will die in the war, all those innocent children who will lose their families, their loved ones and their homes. All you care about is that you maintain your reputation." Pausing to catch his breath, Zero took the chance to calm down slightly before continuing quieter, but just as angrily, "Well, you know what? You can take that reputation and shove it up your ass. Because when everything is over, your reputation won't be worth shit. I'm sorry to have even thought that you would be willing to help. Betting that a mafia leader has some morals was a foolish move on my part."

It was taking Nul all he could to keep from collapsing into laughter. Roaring from laughter would cut the fun short after all. But right now, Zero looked ready to storm out of the door and losing his entertainment and actually not helping were not on Nul's To-do list. Barely managing to keep his voice steady, Nul replied, "Language, my good man. I never said that I wouldn't help you. Simply that I need some...inspiration."

Zero was caught in the uncomfortable place that was halfway between confused and relieved. True, he was still angry with the man, but he didn't want this meeting to go to waste after all. "....What more inspiration do you need? People are going to die if you don't."

But old habits die hard, Nul thought, as he said, "What do their lives means to me? They're like insignificant ants beneath my feet. Why–" Nul was cut short as a fist slammed into his right cheek. Wryly, Nul realized that he had finally pushed the man too far.

Zero fist stung as it came into contact with Nul's cheekbone through the plastic mask, which buckled and cracked under the strain and fell off the mafia leader's face. The last time he had felt this angry was when he found out the truth of Euphemia's death, and this time, he was going to teach this bastard a lesson. He had gone too far, looking down on other people's lives. This was what had caused the previous war to happen, and Zero would rather die than let history repeat itself so soon after the last one ended.

\(0^0)/\(0^0)/\(0^0)/\(0^0)/\(0^0)/\(0^0)/\(0^0)/

Time seemed to slow to a turtle's pace as the black mask fell from Nul's face and Lelouch covered his face with his hands in a panic, hoping that Zero hadn't seen his whole face. It would be extremely bad if he was recognized. Lelouch spun around, seeking the shadows that always hung in his office like furniture. Suddenly, he felt Zero's hand grasp his arm and was jerked back suddenly. Unable to resist, he was swung back to face Zero, only to catch another punch on his face. Lelouch's physical strength hadn't improved in these 50 years at all. Gasping slightly as his back hit the floor, Lelouch tried to quickly right himself. Feeling the other man's weight on him, Lelouch braced himself to be hit again. It's not like he could be beaten to death after all. But that didn't mean that it didn't hurt.

However, he was surprised when the expected fist didn't crash into his face. Hesitantly opening his tightly scrunched eyes, Lelouch was surprised to see a fist suspended in front of his face. Confused, Lelouch looked past said fist and saw that Zero's shoulder were shaking. A soft, confused, "Lelouch" escaped Zero's lips. Lelouch's eyebrows furrowed in thought. This person clearly recognized him. Perhaps Suzaku has shown this man a photo of their younger days? But everyone believed him to be dead...

"It's you, isn't it?" Zero whispered, before removing his helmet.

"SUZAKU?! How? Why?" For once, Lelouch's eloquence failed him completely.

The anger Suzaku had felt a couple moments ago was eclipsed by wonder and joy at finding his friend again. The two of them had always bumped each other at the strangest places. And in the strangest ways, as Suzaku noted in amusement as he stared at Lelouch's surprised face. The mixture of amusement, relief and joy was too much for Suzaku as he simply couldn't resist laughing at his childhood friend's rare lack of composure and burst into little chuckles. As Suzaku laughed, Lelouch was feeling extremely confused and embarrassed without understanding why.

Despite the déjà vu he felt in this situation, Lelouch gathered the tattered shreds of his pride about him and stood up haughtily. He bent down to retrieve the fallen mask, growing annoyed as he noticed the crack that ran down the center. He'll be damned if he ever bought a mask that was "Made in China" again. Staring forlornly at the broken mask laying in his hands, Lelouch wondered what exactly he was feeling at seeing his old friend again. He was happy for sure, but he had the distinct impression he had missed something blatantly obvious. Suzaku's laughter started grating on his nerves, and something about the other young man's voice was triggering an alarm in Lelouch's head.

Then raising his eyes to meet those of Suzaku, he suddenly realized that even the most advanced plastic surgery could not have given Suzaku his 18-years-old appearance. Stumbling backwards quickly, Lelouch tripped over nothing and landed on the floor again. Unless Suzaku had discovered the Fountain of Youth during the 50 years since they'd last met, this was a different person.

Seeing Lelouch trip over absolutely nothing sent Suzaku into a bout of full blown laughter. He knew it probably wasn't what he should be doing right at this moment, but it was too good to pass up. "Even though you have CC's code, it looks like it hasn't prevented you from getting old and senile."

Lelouch's face burned with embarrassment as he rose up with as much dignity as he could muster. "You're not Suzaku." He interjected coldly. "Who are you really?"

Suzaku's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? Don't tell me you've gotten so old that you don't recognize your best friend's face."

Lelouch's eyes narrowed. "I haven't gotten so old that I can't do my math. Suzaku would have been 68 this year."

"And your point being?" Suzaku asked, unable to resist getting Lelouch more riled up. The cat and mouse game that Lelouch had attempted to play in the beginning now had been turned on him.

Lelouch glared and began to question his own sanity. Was he simply imagining Suzaku being here in front of him? Or perhaps...

"You're Suzaku's son, aren't you?"

_Pfft_, Suzaku was unable to hold back anymore. He probably laughed more today than he had in the past 50 years combined.

"Yeah, I totally could have a son when everyone knows my face and also knows that I've died. Come on, Lelouch. I know you're smarter than that."

Lelouch sat down in his overly stuffed executive chair, the wheels in his head churning at 3.0x108 meters per second. If this was indeed Suzaku, then something strange must have happened to have kept his appearance unchanged. And the proverbial light bulb went on above his head.

"You trained with Li Xingke and ate the 天山雪蓮(1) didn't you?"

Suzaku laughed harder. Lelouch began wondering if all the years as Zero had cracked the Japanese man's already tenacious hold on sanity. Maybe forcing his childhood friend to give up his life and become a masked icon had been too heavy a burden. But this Suzaku was much better than the crazed Suzaku he had been at one point. Maybe he had cracked in a good way?

"Ok, this is going no where. If you didn't eat the 天山雪蓮, then you must've found the Fountain of Youth." Seeing that that laughter wasn't letting up, Lelouch sighed. "Ok, what is it then? Don't tell me that the 'Live on' geass kept you from aging. We both know that it doesn't affect the body."

But then again, he himself had said that Suzaku was special.

At this, Suzaku's laughter slowly died down. Suzaku cleared his throat before scratching the back of his neck. "Well you see," he began, "I think this all started when you geassed me. For some reason, your order that I live, along with your request that I remain Zero forever to protect the world peace, have culminated in me looking like an eternal adolescent. I suppose now, I'm a good experiment for how long your geass lasts. I suspect the geass will remain in effect until you die, so it seems we'll be stuck together for awhile."

Lelouch simply stared at Suzaku; his mind not comprehending the words coming out of his childhood friend's mouth. Reaching up, Lelouch's hand neared Suzaku's cheek...and pinched hard.

"Oww!" Suzaku yelped. "What was that for?"

Lelouch sighed. It seemed this was not a strange hallucination or a crazy dream. Oh well, the former Zero decided, this was revenge for those punches. It seemed Suzaku still had the power of youth on his side. Pity.

End Chapter 3

(1) Pronounced: Tiān Shān Xuě Lián. This is a real plant which, in Chinese folklore, is said to grow at the peak of Mt. Tian and grants the one who eats it eternal youth.

**Author's Note:** Well, a heartfelt reunion that took up a whole afternoon of Y's time...well, actually, mostly H's. As usual, Y was lazing around doing some online shopping while H slaved away over this. =P Oh, and don't hesitate, feel free to mock us. Y loves laughing at people laughing at us. :] _-Y_

What Y really means, in her special way of putting it, is that we love reviews for they help us greatly when writing our next chapters. So review, review, review people. =] _-H_

**Omake: **

Zerozaku: -SLAP-

Nul: Did you just hit me in the face?!

Zerozaku: -PUNCH-

Nul: ...

Zerozaku: LELOUCH?!

Lelouch: Can you stop hitting me now?

Suzaku: Sorry, but after all this time, I miss our old domestic violence. :)

Lelouch: -passes out from blood loss-

Suzaku: -panics, hyperventilates and passes out-


	4. Chapter 4

**In Which Lelouch and Suzaku Reconcile and Plan a Picnic**

The two sat facing each other. Awkward silence from the years spent apart hung between them. Lelouch finally decided to break the ice.

"It seems you've grown into your role as Zero."

Giving a pointed glare at his childhood friend, Suzaku half hissed, "I...didn't have much of a choice, did I?"

'He is still so easy to get riled up,' Lelouch thought in amusement. Laughing, Lelouch said, "You've done well."

Uncomfortable with the sudden praise, Suzaku tried to change the subject. "So...why did you decide to become a mafia boss?"

"I got tired," came the blunt answer. Seeing the shock on Suzaku's face, he let out a chuckle and quickly proceeded to explained himself, "It just sort of happened...and I didn't want to sit around. I couldn't stand doing nothing while you and Nunally were trying to piece together the country and maintain the peace. So when the chance came, I decided to take over this mafia and use it's influence to help from the shadows. The mafia's such a nice place. As long as you help increase the influence of the whole organization and are of use, they don't care who you are or where you come from. Perfect for what I've become." Lelouch paused and added, "That, and also I was just bored...living on a farm just didn't suit me."

Suzaku sat in stunned silence. He had a gut feeling that Lelouch's last sentence was spoken the truest. "Well, I suppose it must be hard for someone with your brains to find a way to entertain yourself..."

Bored, Lelouch answered with a vague dismissive, "Well, you know me best..."

Deciding that it was time to get back to the problem at hand, Suzaku said, "About the problem in Africa..."

"Well, I have already refused to supply them. I doubt they'd be able to get weapons."

Suzaku frowned. It seems even Lelouch's intelligence had holes. "They've kidnapped several key scientists and raided several shipments of sakuradite. We believe they..."

"Are trying to build their own Knightmare frame?" Lelouch finished smoothly.

Suzaku smiled. "Something like that."

Lelouch continued with a look of infinite boredom, "And then proceed to threaten the New United Nations through this frame?"

Suzaku decided to fill Lelouch in on the details. "Several of the kidnapped scientists were from the Lancelot project. I suppose the new frame would be something like a Lancelot 2.0."

Lelouch smirked. "Hmm...sounds like fun. A plan with many holes, to be sure. But I do so love dramatics."

Staring straight at Lelouch, Suzaku asked, "Will you help me?"

Smiling his secretive smile, Lelouch teased, "We should go take a look. Just like old times, eh?"

Blinking confusedly, Suzaku could only question, "What old times?"

\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/

"Sit wherever you want," Lelouch, or rather Nul, said, casually gesturing at the various seats in the jet. Sinking into his plush chair, Nul watched with amusement as Zero looked around trying to choose a chair. With a screech, the staircase was moved away and the door was securely sealed. Simultaneously, Nul and Zero removed their masks.

"Help yourself to the drinks and the food in the fridge over there," Lelouch said and turned on his laptop and started typing.

Suzaku, used to the extravagance from his many trips with the Empress as Zero, joking asked, "Aww...you're not going to cook for me?"

Irritated, Lelouch answered without looking at Suzaku, "This is an airplane. There aren't any stoves on an airplane. It's going to be a long flight. You should get some sleep."

Taking Lelouch's advice, Suzaku dozed for a while. When he awoke, Lelouch was still typing. "What are you so concentrated on?"

Lelouch jumped slightly. He hadn't heard Suzaku getting up at all. "I was just filling up the holes left in your plan. I don't enjoy leaving things up to fate, in case you've forgotten."

Suzaku sigh, "Yeah, yeah. I remember. You spent days planning for every possible scenario of the Zero Requiem." Pouting as he remembered those lonely days of being locked out of Lelouch's room, Suzaku made himself comfortable. He noticed the boxes of pizza stacked neatly next to Lelouch's workspace. It seems that CC had started to rub off. Wondering what the green haired witch was up to now, Suzaku was surprised to hear a knock and see a Chinese man open the door...and almost had a heart attack.

"LI-SAN! Why are you here?!"

Lelouch did not look up from his work."He's here as hired help," he informed Suzaku crisply.

Suzaku pulled himself straight and tried to look Li Xingke in the eye. Unfortunately, being the kung fu master that he is, Li Xingke resembled a stoner out of an old Britannian high school film: his eyes stared straight ahead at some image visible only to his eyes and his face burned with passion for his life's purpose.

Whatever that purpose may be, the world may never know...

Suzaku tried to greet the Chinese man, opening with a deluge of pleasantries that was verbal diarrhea at best. The kungfu master acknowledged Suzaku with a barely perceptible nod of his head and went over to the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of Made in China 'Youth Eteanal Elixir' that looked suspiciously like tap water. Moving behind Lelouch, Li peered over the short haired man's shoulder. "I think you should pay more attention to your man. He's starting to angst and polish his knife in the corner of the room."

Lelouch's fingers stopped their rhythmic typing as their owner's whole body gave a spasmodic twitch at the older man's proximity. Lelouch turned to see that Suzaku had indeed begun sulking in the corner. Filing it in his to-do list, behind planning out the raid and getting his hair done, he replied acidly, "I was hoping you could give me more useful advice than that."

Li Xingke had considered his advice quite useful, but decided to leave that for later. Instead, he studied the data on Lelouch's laptop, and the two men immediately fell to discussing strategies for infiltration. In the corner, Suzaku continued sharpening his knife and his smile grew more and more psychotic as he was left alone.

\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/

Li Xingke decided that he did not like the Sahara desert at all. It was nothing like the Gobi Desert, which he had crossed on foot. That desert had been bearable; at least, he had felt like he had enough energy to make it through. Heck, he had even defeated the _allghoi__khorkhoy_ (1) and felt strong enough to continue walking. This desert seemed to sap his strength to the point where he felt that lifting a finger would take all his strength. And he was riding in a Jeep.

Maybe he was just getting old.

Adjusting his goggles and wrapping the scarf tighter around his face, Li Xingke decided that he would never help Lelouch again without finding out just what the job entailed. Then again, watching these two get back together was amusing indeed.

He had been surprised that Suzaku hadn't aged, but had shrugged it off. After all, he himself hadn't aged either. If he could find the secrets of immortality, someone else could do so as well.

Currently, the subject of Li's musings was feeling really sick. Suzaku had always been a visual person and now, seeing only sand dune after sand dune, he wasn't sure if this sea of sand would ever end. This, added on with the random lurches the jeep made with Lelouch at the wheel was a deadly combination. Even though Suzaku was used to being thrown around in the cockpit, Lelouch's driving was introducing him to the beautiful world of motion sickness. His vision blurred, the color of the sand mixing with the sky, everything gradually becoming tinged with red. He patted his pocket for the knife reassuringly. Yes...his precious...chuckling softly to himself, Suzaku busied himself staring at his shoelaces.

Unaware of his friend's state of physical and mental health, Lelouch was driving with one hand and looking at the side mirror. He carefully applied with one hand anti-sand grit mousse to his hair and combed out each strand. Turning his head this way and that to check that he didn't miss any strands, he snapped his eyes back to road, or the lack of one. His brain flipped to the next item on his mental to-do list: taking care of Suzaku's moodiness.

Keeping one hand firmly on the steering wheel, Lelouch called Suzaku's name. Getting no response, he repeated himself before raising his voice.

Snapping out of his reverie, Suzaku asked dazedly, "What's the matter?"

Lelouch smiled his charming smile. "How are you holding up?"

Slightly maniacal, Suzaku replied, "I feel fine...better than fine...I feel...good..."

Lelouch noticed the glint in Suzaku's eyes that always appeared then the Japanese man was on a quest for "justice."

Deciding that to provoke him at this point was dangerous and likely quite painful, Lelouch decided to put on his considerate face. "When we get back, we should have a picnic."

Suzaku looked up, the psychotic edge in his face replaced by a childish joy. "Picnic? Does that mean we can eat your homemade food? I haven't tasted that in such a long time."

Soon, the harshness of the Sahara and the monotony of the terrain were forgotten as the two old friends planned their picnic and their one-man audience watched on in amusement. But bliss does not last forever and as they drew near the hollowed-out mountain that was their destination, their mood became more subdued until none of the three were speaking, and all were looking around warily for signs of being detected.

According to the reports of the Romanian Underground, the guards switched at noon exactly. During this period, they had five minutes. Laughing at their predictability and oversight, Lelouch zoomed through the gap in the formation. Breaking through the first line of defense was the easy part. Parking the jeep carefully with other similar models, the three men split up.

Li Xingke followed the path he had memorized from the blueprint on Lelouch's computer. He arrived at his destination quickly, taking out the watch that was synced with that of the others. When the second hand lined up perfectly, he destroyed the entire weapons storeroom with his Buddha Aura Wave, perfected on the highest mountains of Asia.

Lelouch took his time. He knew his own physical limits and refused to run. Besides, he had long since noted how humans repeat the same habits over and over each day. Rebel leaders were no different. At this time, Olefumi was alone in her planning room. Kicking open the door to Olefumi's room, Lelouch removed the mask he had donned for this escapade. She rose from her table, but Lelouch was one step ahead of her. His eyes shimmered when he activated his geass.

Suzaku sprinted at the speed of sound through the tunnels. His view of the world narrowed to what was in front of him. His soldier's training allowed him to memorize Lelouch's instructions easily. Making one last turn, he managed somehow to run along the wall to avoid built in cameras. They were cheap models anyhow, no match for his law-of-physics defying powers. Sneaking through the poorly secured vaults, Suzaku punched in the last passcode. The doors opened and Suzaku was confronted with a Knightmare frame that looked like Lancelot's bastard son.

End Chapter 4

(1) It's also know as the Mongolian Death Worm which said to be bright red and is from 2 to 5 feet long. Currently, it's existence is neither confirmed nor denied. For more info: .org/wiki/Mongolian_Death_Worm.

Author's Note: We love you all. Don't swallow too many spiders while you sleep tonight. :]

Omake:

Li: *grunts*

Suzaku: Li-san, I apologize, but I don't speak the grunting language.

\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/\(^o^)/

Lelouch: -wakes up in the night- I need some milk.

Suzaku: -half awake- Lelouch! Where are you going?!

ARE YOU LEAVING ME AGAIN?! *reaches for knife*

Lelouch: ...

Suzaku: Nooooo, I love you! What did I do wrong?

Lelouch: No, it's not you, it's me. You see Suzaku, the truth is...  
.....I LIKE GIRLS!!!

Suzaku: ...-goes back to sleep- Oh, okay, well just a heads up, you should work on your acting skills. You're about as straight as curly fries.

Lelouch: Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Suzaku: -sleeps on peacefully-


	5. Chapter 5

**In Which Lelouch and Suzaku Establish World Peace and Then Some**

Suzaku stared in awe at the smexy piece of machinery, the state-of-the-art Knightmare Frame that was the bastard child of his very own Lancelot. Even if he didn't understand the complete logistics of the Knightmare frame, Suzaku could tell that this frame was several times more powerful than his old frame. He could feel it in his bones...a burning desire to seize this frame and take control of his destiny, rewrite the justice of the world. Suzaku crouched slightly, gathering energy in his tense legs, and jumped onto the Kinghtmare Frame. With the ease of years of practice, Suzaku let himself into the cockpit. Suzaku started the Knightmare frame and discovered an unforeseen problem: the OS was too convoluted for a pilot to operate the Knightmare Frame properly. Banging his head against the dashboard in frustration, Suzaku wished ferverently that Lelouch was here. Although he was a good pilot, Suzaku never learned how to reprogram an OS. Everything was taken care of by Llyod and Cecile, and later their successors.

Sighing, Suzaku exited the cockpit and searched around the hanger. Finding enough dynamite to make several bombs large enough to blow up a Kinghtmare frame, Suzaku got to work. There were better ways to spend the time than just sitting in the cockpit and doing nothing.

Lelouch was rushing through the halls to where Suzaku was. Knowing the Japanese boy as well as he did, he figured Suzaku would be struggling with the configurations on the new frame or some such. Sure enough, as he rounded the corner and dashed through the opened security gates, he saw the cockpit of the new Knightmare Frame open and a confused looking Suzaku inside. He recognized the look.

"Can't figure out the correct configurations?" Lelouch called.

Lelouch watched in amusement as Suzaku's head snapped up, body tightly coiled as if to spring, before relaxing when he recognized his friend. The almost manic look left Suzaku's eyes, and his old friend looked down at him fondly.

"Nah, the whole operating system is horrible and needs to be completely reprogrammed," Suzaku replied, thankful that Lelouch was here at last. He couldn't wait to actually operate that delightful frame.

Lelouch attempted to climb up the sides of the frame. He laboriously made slow progress, until Suzaku finally grew tired and simply came down to drag him up. Finding that dragging Lelouch was next to impossible, Suzaku decided to dispense with social norms and picked up the Britannian bridal style, never minding the ridiculousness of the situation. Lelouch, being the more socially conscious of the two, struggled to escape but gave in to his fate and decided to curse the day he had met Suzaku again. Now as long as no one sees and decides to blackmail him...

Upon reaching the cockpit, Lelouch haughtily gave his thanks and proceeded to shove Suzaku halfway out while he seated himself comfortably in front of the keyboard. Letting his mind enter the autopilot superhuman intelligence mode, Lelouch's hands clacked against the keyboard at the speed of about 300 words per minute. Suzaku gaped in amazement at this display of hacking and programming skill, recognizing none of the text that was appearing on the computer screen. A few minutes later, Lelouch stood up without warning and stretched languidly.

"And that," He told an awestruck Suzaku, "is how you reconfigure the OS. I hope you remember because you'll have to do it yourself next time."

Suzaku gulped, swearing never to get stuck in a situation like this again. Lelouch did not continue pressing him though, and they switched positions. Coincidentally the Galahad was a two-seater, and Suzaku took over the main controls. Lelouch perched in front of the screen, the visual feed reflecting in his eyes.

"We still have some time left before Li is supposed to meet up with us," Lelouch said after checking his watch.

Suzaku nodded his agreement before saying, "I've planted bombs around the hanger and on each of the other Knightmare Frames already. When he gets here, we'll just blow this place up. By the way, how did you finish with Olefumi so quickly?"

Lelouch shifted his eyes away from Suzaku's. "Oh you know...the usual. I gave her a rather simple command that is free for her to interpret." Lelouch smiled slightly as he remembered how pitifully easy Olefumi had been to deal with.

Suzaku bit his tongue, remembering the last incident of a misinterpreted geass gone wrong. "It's not something that's going to lead to mass genocide is it?"

Interrupted by Suzaku's worried inquiry, Lelouch jerked his mind back to the present and presented his special for-close-friends-or-family-only fake reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I was quite specific about that..."

"I simply told her, 'Stop the rebellion.' It should be enough to make her stop the organization's actions or at least stall them without resulting in any negative consequences... At least to us," Lelouch explained to put Suzaku at ease. Had it been anyone else, Lelouch wouldn't have bothered explaining and would have let them think as they liked.

Relieved, Suzaku gave Lelouch a smile and returned to fine tuning the controls to his habits. This was one beautiful machine. Suzaku couldn't wait to actually try it out.

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On the other side of the base, Li was basking in pride at his accomplishment. The entire weaponry of the African resistance was decimated, and a giant chinese character spelling out "Buddha" was carved into the earth. He decided that next time he should tweak his Buddha Aura Wave a little. Spell out a whole line from the Buddhist scriptures perhaps...

Shaking his head, Li decided that it didn't matter. He had accomplished his part of the mission and the evidence left behind wouldn't point to him anyways. There were others who could have done so. Probably. For a second Li pondered if he was leaving too obvious a trail. Then he squashed the thought in his head and headed towards the rendezvous point. He was mildly surprised midstep to hear an announcement come on over the PA. "Brothers," an unmistakably dominating female voice boomed, "Lay down your arms! We will surrender to the NUN for the sake of world peace! I repeat! Lay down your arms!"

Li chuckled to himself. Not like they actually had any weapons anymore. Picking up his pace, Li hurried to the hanger. He didn't want to be here when the soldiers rushed toward their leader to demand the reason for this sudden change of heart. No one noticed him in the turmoil. Inside, Li was glad to get out of the crowd and into the deserted hanger. Well, mostly deserted. With innate grace, Li took a couple of jumps onto the most distinctive-looking Kinghtmare frame and found Lelouch and Suzaku already taking the only two seats. Perhaps he should go use another one? He didn't want to play third wheel after all, but this one looked so interesting to pilot.

The two inside made the decision for him. Dragging him inside unceremoniously, they closed the hatch and started moving. Since it was a two seater, the cockpit was tall enough for him to stand without bending his head. "Have you heard from the NUN yet? If they haven't confirmed, we shouldn't move just yet," Li murmured quietly.

Li smirked as he felt Lelouch's scowl directed to the back of his head. Li was certain that at least part of the irritation was due to him interrupting the two's alone time. "Of course we've gotten confirmation already. Did you think we were stupid enough to move when we haven't gotten confirmation?" Lelouch snapped in annoyance.

Li didn't respond to Lelouch's jab. He figured that Lelouch was irritated at keeping Suzaku in check. Suzaku was entering battle mode now, his eyes holding the manic tinge that had Li thanking his lucky deities that he wasn't the one facing the new Zero. Then, in one fell swoop, Suzaku pulled out the hidden bomb and proceeded to make mushroom clouds out of the few other frames in the hanger, laughing maniacally all the while. Suzaku easily maneuvered through the halls and broke through the stone wall to where the soldiers had gathered in the mess hall, which doubled as a meeting room. Here, the three heard angry and confused voices, both at their entrance and their leader's sudden decision.

One of Olefumi's lieutenants was arguing hotly with his superior. "Why are we suddenly stopping? We still have plenty of resources and we have our secret weapon that is sure to demolish any enemies that stand in our way. No one has a Frame capable of standing up to Lancelot 2.0! And it's not like we've been found out yet. The delegates at NUN are probably still arguing about tea at this very moment!"

Suddenly, maniacal laughter filled the air. Li found himself in the main pilot seat. Suzaku had disappeared and Zerozaku was standing on Galahad's shoulder.

"You poor fools. You haven't even realized that everything's over for you. Your weapons have been destroyed and your precious Kinghtmare frame is in our hands. Give up! Your revolution is already finished! Mwahahahahahaha!" Zerozaku declared.

Shocked whispers changes to cries of outrage as soldiers discovered that they were caught. In the next second, NUN soldiers rushed into the room, and the cries of outrage turned into cries of fear. In fifteen minutes of confusion, all the rebels were subdued and another tale of Zero's heroic-ness has been added to his already impressive list. From behind Zerozaku, Lelouch boomed: "Behold. This is the futility of your struggles. If you deserved a place among the Big Three, we would have welcomed you, but the quality of life in Africa isn't up to our standards yet. Instead of spending money and energy on weapons, you should focus on improving the lives of the people."

Having said this and leaving friend and foe in awe, Zero disappeared into the cockpit and blasted off, leaving the soldiers to deal with the falling rubble. Li quivered in fear to the tips of his matching Chinese slippers at Suzaku's hysterical laughter, but Lelouch just sighed and continued plotting their escape. When Li exited the frame at the peak of the tallest mountain in China, he secretly swore never to get involved in one of Lelouch's escapades ever again. He hoped that his glare to Lelouch conveyed that message clearly, but the shorter man simply smiled and patted him genially on the shoulder."I look forward to working with you again." Lelouch said with a big smile.

Li wondered which of China's remote temples would be willing to take him in and hide him for another few centuries.

Forgetting about the Chinese man immediately, Lelouch and Suzaku continued the trip in companionable silence. Suzaku slowed down the frame considerably to conserve fuel, but they landed in Romania too soon for either's liking. Staring into each other's eyes with the setting sun in the background, Suzaku grasped Lelouch's hands in his own. "Lelouch, I promise I will come back for you."

Lelouch looked at him disbelievingly. "You don't actually believe that do you? I mean, what about Nunnaly and your duties?"

Suzaku waved his hand nonchalantly. "Justice is important to me, I'll admit. But you're important too. You're the most important person in my life."

Lelouch's eyes filled with tears and breathed, "Suzaku."

Suzaku's eyes brimmed with passion and manly tears. "Lelouch."

Lelouch held down his own joy and punched Suzaku, hard. "I didn't think you would be the type to just abandon your duties, Suzaku. I'm disappointed."

Suzaku laughed lightly, certain that Lelouch was teasing him. He didn't feel the punch anyways. "I'll tie up all my loose ends and come back to carry you off to our happy ending."

Giving up, Lelouch decided that he deserved happiness for himself too. After all, he had done all that to create a better world for those he cared about, not for his own sake. Ignoring the nagging little voice in the back of his head that disagreed, Lelouch said, "I'll be waiting."

With a smile and a wave, Suzaku got back into Galahad and flew off in the distance to make good on his promise.

\(0^0)/\(0^0)/\(0^0)/\(0^0)/\(0^0)/\(0^0)/\(0^0)/\(0^0)/\(0^0)/\(0^0)/

The NUN was stumped. The news about the rebellion and the result of the situation was treated as a accomplishment for the countries. They had patted themselves on the back for the peaceful resolution. After all, it had been their forces that subdued the rebels. Never mind the fact that it was Zero who found out about it and actually took action. Which leads to the current problem: to which country does Lancelot 2.0, dubbed Galahad, go?

In light of the "finders keepers" rule, it should go to Britannia. However, Zero was not officially apart of Britannia, and as the NUN intervened as well, the frame was technically their property. However, being made collective property was difficult among the grasping power hungry politicians. Finally, the escalating tension snapped.

"Galahad should go to the Chinese Federation!!! We did the most work!" The Chinese declared.

They decided to halt all export of WcDonald toys until their demands were met. This threw the other nations into frenzy. Sensing another world war creeping upon them, Zero decided it was time he stepped in. "Gentlemen, there is no need to resort to such terrible measures. Currently, I have no intention of handing over Galahad over to any particular nation. I have noticed that the space colony, ZION, is a neutral 4th party. Why not give Galahad to them for protection?"

"But who exactly are you going to name as it's pilot?" a nameless official said.

The head Chinese ambassador chimed in with a nomination of their very own Li Xingke, but an aide quietly informed him that Li had inexplicably vanished into the wilderness of China on some esoteric training mission. The Europeans could not decide which country should have the honor of naming the pilot. The representatives began squabbling. Britannians all looked to the Empress for directions. She said nothing, simply sipping her tea daintily before an aide coughed and asked if she had anyone to nominate. Putting down her tea gently, Nunally smiled serenely and said, "Of course I have someone in mind. What do my fellow leaders think of nominating Zero as the pilot?"

The silence of the hall lasted a few second before erupting into discord once more. "Of course Zero is the perfect candidate, but we are planning to send Galahad to ZION," an European delegate exclaimed.

The Chinese Federation did not say a word. If Galahad was sent out to ZION, with Zero as the pilot, then Zero would have to leave the side of the Empress of Britannia. With Zero out of the way, they can finally begin all out domination of the New United Nations. Working this out in their mental abacus, the Chinese smiled broadly and declared that this was a splendid idea.

The Britannian councilors were furious. This shift of power would be extremely unfavorable to them. Nunally continued smiling. Even if she loses Zero for a short amount of time, having Zero as the head of the neutral fourth entity would suddenly make ZION favored towards Britannia. She would lose Zero's presence, but gain a whole country as an ally. Besides, she was getting rather sick of Zerozaku babying her all the time. Zerozaku stayed silent throughout the process. He had faith that Nunally would trust him and his plan. The fools at the NUN had no way of knowing that the two had set up everything earlier. Britannia still owned the game.

The other nations started discussing this option in earnest. After days of debate, during which Zerozaku and Nunally took leisurely strolls in the garden and ate tiramisu cake, the NUN finally agreed to send Zero and Galahad to ZION. With this part of the plan finished, Suzaku took his bags which he packed earlier and left with Galahad to pick up Lelouch. Both secretly ecstatic that the other is leaving, Nunally and Suzaku kissed each other on the cheek mock affectionately before Suzaku took off in the Galahad. He found Lelouch waiting for him in Romania.

Lelouch watched as the distinctive Kinghtmare frame landed near his base. As Suzaku neared, Lelouch said, "I've heard the news. So that's what you were trying to do."

Suzaku smiled and attempted to envelop Lelouch in a big and distinctively unmanly bear hug. Lelouch saw the action and moved quickly to evade. It wouldn't do for anyone to see the genius leader of the Romanian Underground being hugged by the Defender of Justice, Zero. Suzaku coughed in embarrassment as he noticed they were rather out in the open. Looking down, he noticed that Lelouch had already packed his bag, and was grateful once again for the underground grapevine. Lelouch had left C.C. in charge of the organization. She had eagerly agreed when he told her she could corner the market with Cheese-kuns.

Smiling ecstatically, Suzaku once again picked up Lelouch bridal style, along with all his bags, and dumped them into Galahad. "We can be together...forever!"

Blushing furiously, Lelouch was infinitely glad that they were already in the Knightmare frame. Suzaku sat down in the pilot seat excitedly. The psycho gleam re-entered his eyes, and Lelouch uneasily wondered if this was a good idea after all. Closing the hatch, Suzaku turned to Lelouch and asked seductively, "How do you want to spend eternity?"

Lelouch had two requests: "A nap and some pizza."

Laughing at this reply, Suzaku said, "Alright, I'll wake you up when we get to ZION. We'll have pizza to celebrate."

And so the two began their long life together, filled with interludes of world-saving adventures and catfights that ended in teary dramatic make-ups. Yes, the world would be safe forever with these two looking out for it.

The End

**Author's Note**: Hmm, crooked politicians, two cheesy shojo scenes, and a happy ending. Not bad, I guess. But goshdarnit, I wanted to have Lulu and Suzaku set up a dictatorship and rule the world and all that fun stuff. H wouldn't let me though. Our first big fight; oh how it broke my nonexistent heart! Meh, she's so logical. That's why I love her so much though. :P I'm quite glad this fic is over at last. It was hard coming up with a decent ending. I feel kind of bad for their world, actually... _-Y_

-glares at Y- Stop it with the dictatorship! Actually we argued over how we should end the thing for about an hour. It was filled with lot of whining as we debated which ending would actually make more sense. The characters aren't completely in character, but we didn't want to change their fundamental beliefs. Or at least I didn't. But as they say (at least, i think that's what they say) fights make a relationship stronger. =] But yes, I'm glad we've finished our first fic too. Although now we must find plot bunnies. Sigh...nothing we do seem to attract any. _-H_

**Omake:**  
Lelouch: Suzaku, you came back!! -running hug-

Suzaku: Yes, I'm back my love! -running hug-

Lelouch: It's been a whole week you dumbtard!!! -slaps-

Suzaku: Noooo! I promise I won't do it again. Please forgive me!!!

Lelouch: I just...can't trust you anymore. -sniff-

Suzaku: I'll do anything to prove my love to you!

Lelouch: -perks up- Anything?

Suzaku: ...


End file.
